The Smiling
President sitting comfortably between his wife (right)
and his foreign minister, Fawzia Yusuf Haji Aden (left)
at the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster

On 2nd February 2013 I was among thousands of privileged
Somalis who attended a welcome event held in London for
President Hassan and his delegation. I attended some
previous welcome events for former Somali presidents,
including President Sheikh Shariif. However, I must say
this event was very much different from the previous
ones in terms of the location, popularity, and the good
atmosphere that surrounded the conference.

In
the past, welcome events for Somali presidents, such as
the late President Abdullahi Yusuf’s visit to London,
were much localised and exclusive, dominated by
particular groups with narrow minded agendas and
interests. Believe or not some of them were held at
hotels or at some obscure small community centres often
attended by presidents’ lineages and their sympathisers.
Organisers of these events were very much concerned
about presidents’ safety and security, as opposition
groups were everywhere, lurking from every corner,
waiting for any opportunity to ambush the visiting
president and his entourage. In particular, I remember
Abdullahi Yusuf’s visit in London at the height of the
controversy over the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, and
how very angry Somalis surrounded his hotel, calling him
names, and carrying placards with obscene and abusive
messages. Obviously, this reflected the ugly face of the
cut-throat politics at the time when Somalis were deeply
divided among themselves over the invasion, and the late
president was accused of being behind the invasion.

Former president Sheikh Sharif’s visit in London was
less controversial and to some extent popular than
Abdullahi Yusuf’s. This is again because of the
prevailing political atmosphere of the time in which
Somalis saw the president as a reconciling figure. The
president was heading a government, which, unlike the
previous TFG, had rejected violence to achieve political
ends, and had accepted the principle of reconciliation
and political negotiation. And the visit was after
Ethiopians had been ejected from the country and the
Somali people were feeling relieved and proud of their
victory against their enemy. Wearing the Islamic turban,
a symbol of piety and honesty in Somali culture that
divides men into “waranle” (warrior) and “wadaad”
(saint) and accompanied by Sharif Hassan, former speaker
of the parliament who also wore a turban the two Sharifs
were popular among those who attended the welcome
events. They were seen as saviours.

Now let me
return to President Hassan’s recent visit in London.
Unlike the previous ones, the welcome event was held not
only at the heart of London, but very close to the seat
of the UK government. The House of Commons, the Big Ben,
the 10 Downing Street and other government department
buildings were all at a walking distance from the
Methodist Central Hall in Westminster where the
conference was held. By holding the event at this
location it was probably meant to make it more inclusive
and a public event in which any Somali who had the guts
to endure a two-hour long queue in a freezing cold
weather was welcomed to see their smiling president.

Organisers of the event were not disappointed, as up
to 3,000 people congregated at the hall to see their
president making an important political speech,
highlighting his vision and the way forward for his
country. The event was probably the biggest Somali
political gathering held in London to honour a visiting
Somali president. Looking back, neither Siyad Barre nor
Abdullahi Yusuf nor Sheikh Sharif had ever enjoyed such
a warm welcoming atmosphere, although there were some
demonstrations against the President. And this is not
unusual thing to happen for a society that is emerging
from a long civil war. However, the warm welcome and the
good will shown by thousands of Somalis again reveals
the current prevailing mood of reconciliation among
Somalis who are now proud of their full-fledging
government that has been recognised by the international
community. It also showed that after 20 years of civil
wars, Somalis are now ready to forgive each other and
forgot whatever happened in the past.

For me the
most important thing in the conference was when I saw
the smiling President sitting comfortably between two
women: his wife, and his foreign minister, Fawzia Yusuf
Haji Aden. This was clear recognition of the emerging
women’s political power given how men had been
oppressing Somali women in political, cultural and
social affairs. The message was clear: women are not in
the shadow any more and are here to say to play a
dominant role in Somalia’s cut throat politics. This is
important in an era when the so-called “Islamists” are
doing every thing in their power to humiliate and
undermine the role of women in the Somali society.

As they say “behind every great man there's a great
woman”, and may be this time our president will be much
wiser, peace-loving, tolerant, and patient thanks to the
comfort, wisdom, and the listening ears that he will be
getting from these two honourable ladies.

Kudos
to Somali women…

It also important to mention
here that the politics of excluding minority groups and
the 4.5 formula have no place in Somalia, and seeing
Professor Dalxa sitting at the same table as the
president’s is a loud and clear message that one of the
well-educated and professional groups are here to stay
to play prominent roles in our country’s socio-economic
and political affairs.